Kitchen Classroom 2021: Week 23

Welcome to week 23 of Kitchen Classroom 2021, where America’s Test Kitchen Kids is sharing a weekly kid-tested and kid-approved recipe, hands-on experiment, or activity paired with a Learning Moment that brings learning to life in the kitchen. 

This week, Kitchen Classroom features Cooking For You! Kids can make their own Veggie Wrap with Hummus for a quick and healthy lunch, practicing their kitchen skills as they shred carrots, slice tomatoes, and prep an avocado. They’ll put their knowledge of fruits and vegetables to the test to sort the ingredients into different categories, and participate in a colorful brainstorming challenge in Take It Further as they enjoy their meal.

Don’t forget to share what your family makes by tagging @testkitchenkids or using #ATKkids on Instagram, or by sending photos to kids@americastestkitchen.com. Visit the America’s Test Kitchen Kids website for more culinary content designed especially for kids. 

Here’s what’s cooking for the week of June 7th through 13th, 2021.

For a quick and flavorful lunch, this wrap rolls up crunchy vegetables, creamy hummus, and buttery avocado. A bright lemony dressing gives the veggies some zing, and the whole thing comes together in under half an hour. You can substitute a 10-inch flour tortilla for the lavash bread if you like. This recipe can easily be doubled to make two wraps for your young chef to share with a sibling, caregiver, or friend.
[GET THE RECIPE]

What You’ll Need
2 teaspoons extra-­virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice, squeezed from ½ lemon
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper
1 carrot
1 avocado
1 (11-by-8-inch) piece lavash bread
⅓ cup plain hummus (store-bought or make your own!)
8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
½ cup baby spinach

Learning Moment
Life Science (Plants):
Before kids begin assembling their wraps, have them lay out all of the ingredients for the recipe on the counter. Tell kids that before they start cooking, you’re going to play a quick game of “This, That, or the Other!”

• Ask kids: Can you guess which of the ingredients in this recipe are fruits, which are vegetables, and which are neither or “other”? 
• Have kids sort the ingredients into groups with their best guesses. Ask kids: What were your reasons for putting these ingredients into these groups?
• Tell kids that in plant science, or botany, the definition of a fruit is the part of a plant that develops from a flower and contains a seed or seeds inside. A fruit has a skin on the outside (which may be thick or thin), its insides are usually juicy, and it contains one or more seeds. A vegetable, on the other hand, is any of the other parts of a plant that  people eat. Some grow above the ground (leaves, buds, flowers, and stems), and some grow below the ground (roots and bulbs). 
• Ask kids: Now that you know these definitions, would you make any changes to your groupings? Why or why not? Have kids make any changes they’d like to, and give their “final answer.”
• Tell kids that plant scientists would sort the ingredients of this recipe into these groups:
• Fruits: lemon, avocado, cherry tomatoes, pepper (black pepper comes from black peppercorns, which are another fruit—a berry!)
• Vegetables: carrot (a root), baby spinach (leaves)
• Other: extra-virgin olive oil (which is made from olives, which are a fruit); salt (a mineral); lavash bread (made from grains); hummus (which contains lots of different ingredients, including chickpeas, which are legumes)
• Ask kids: Were you surprised by any of these answers? Why or why not? The tomato and avocado may be especially surprising. In cooking, we often think of them as vegetables, but in plant science, they’re considered fruits.
• Now kids are ready to make their veggie (and fruit!) wrap.

Take It Further
Visual Art (Color):
As kids enjoy eating their wrap, challenge them to another game: This recipe has many colorful ingredients; how many other fruits or vegetables can kids brainstorm in each color category? For example, the carrots in this wrap are orange; how many other orange fruits or vegetables can they think of? For extra excitement, set a timer for 30 seconds for each color and see how many other fruits and vegetables your young chef can think of for that color. Here are some examples, in case kids get stuck:

• Red - cherry tomatoes, red bell peppers, beets, red apples, strawberries, cherries, raspberries, cranberries, pomegranates
• Orange - carrots, orange bell peppers, pumpkins, winter squash, sweet potatoes, oranges, peaches, papayas, kumquats, persimmons
• Yellow - lemons, summer squash, yellow bell peppers, corn, bananas, pineapple
• Green - avocados, green grapes, green apples, limes, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, green beans, peas, zucchini, scallions

Catching up on Kitchen Classroom? Find previous weeks using the links below:

• Kitchen Classroom 2021
• Kitchen Classroom 2020